Scotland’s court service is burning hundreds of kilograms of coal each winter so lawyers can enjoy fires at a historic building on the Royal Mile – despite Scottish Government pledges to make public sector buildings friendlier to the environment.
A freedom of information request by The Ferret found the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is burning more than half a tonne of coal at Parliament Hall, part of a complex of buildings which now house Scotland’s supreme civil court, the Court of Session.
Parliament Hall was the main chamber of the old Scottish parliament before it was dissolved by the Act of Union in 1707.
In total, 625kg of coal is burned in three large fireplaces there which are lit between October and the end of March each year, equal to one 25kg bag of coal being burned every week.
One local environmental campaigner told The Ferret lawyers at Parliament Hall should “forget about this particular tradition” and added there was “no excuse for any part of the public sector to be using coal for anything”.